Semi-Monthly Organ of the Opposition Group in the Workers (Communist) Party o f Am erica * * Partyf«h®uM study calmly and with the ««ate« objectivity, 8 m the substance o i the diffteences of T H E epibten, and then the de^opment e l the *ru*gles within the Party. Neither the one nor the Other can be done unless the documents o i b o * sides are pubUdied. H e who takes somebody’s word fo r it is a hopeless idiot, who can be disposed of with a simple gesture of the hand ’’— Lenin MILITANT VOL, n., No. 4. NEW YORK, N. Y„ FEBRUARY 15, 1929. PRICE 5 CENTS Platform of the Communist Opposition Addressed to the Sixth National Convention of the Workers (Communist) Party By JAMES P. CANNON, ARNE SWABECK, MARTIN ABERN and MAX SHACHTMAN spheres of influence on the other, is the resort to the Chinese Revolution, the British General Strike, The Position of the imperialist war. In sharpening the contradictions the Indonesian uprising and the Vienna events, between the productive forces of world eeonomy not to mention the millions of unemployed. The Russian Revolution and national state barriers, imperialism evoked estimate1 of stabilization given at the Sixth World the last war and is preparing the next. This does Congress is so eclectic that it permits of varying The present position of the Russian Revolution not exclude, within the period of the decline of interpretations. and its Marxist'Leninist foundation is the dominat­ capitalism, the possibility of a partial economic re­ ing factor in the world movement that must dc- vival or even the development of productive Revision of Leninism termine the course o f every Communist and rev­ forces. Lenin at the Second Congress of the Com­ olutionary worker. It overshadows all other ques­ munist International rightly pointed out that there tions. A n examination of its present status and was “ no absolutely hopeless situation.” The state and the Crisis in the an analysis of the conditions of its development of preparedness of the proletariat to wage a rev­ are prerequisites to the solution of all other main olutionary struggle for power is a determining Comintern problems of the strategy and tactics of the revolu­ factor in the destruction of capitalism. Thanks tionary movement. Just as the fevolutionary Com­ to the treachery of the reformist social democracy, Upon this essentially erroneous estimate was munist movement all over the world was moulded to the strategic though temporary post-war con­ based the theory of the possibility of the complete and hardened in estimating the significance of the cessions of the bourgeoisie, and to the weakness construction of a socialist society in one country, events of 1914-1917, marked by the collapse of or bad leadership of the Communist Parties, the (Russia), a theory entirely alien to the teachings the Second international and the rise of the Bol­ bourgeoisie has been able to achieve the present of Marx, Engels and Lenin, and directly contrary shevik Revolution, so world Bolshevism, its main­ relative stabilization of capitalism. to every principle of revolutionary international­ tenance and growth, is conditioned upon the But this estimate of the current stabilization d if­ ism. Integrally combined with this reactionary estimation of the course of events in the Soviet fers radically from that implied in the Stalinist, “ theory” is the idea that a self-sufficing national Union and the Communist International in the revisionist “ theory” of socialism in one country, economy can be maintained if only the danger of period of the last four to five years. A ll other that is, a stabilization for decades, for a whole imperialist military intervention is warded off. questions are subordinated to this and flow from it. epoch. This conception, which is an approach to That this inevitably leads to opportunism before The collapse of the Russian Revolution as the the social democratic view of capitalism as organ­ the world bourgeoisie, (particularly before the dictatorship of the proletariat would signify the ically stabilized, found expression in the resolution United States which is the basic counter-revolu­ retardation for decades of the revolutionary move­ of the 14th Congress of the Communist Party of tionary force in the world today), is shown in the ment in Europe and America and the uprisings the Soviet Union on Stalin’s political report, which signing of the Kellogg Pact by the Soviet Union of the colonial peoples, whose main point of sup­ declared that “ in the domain of international rela­ and the notorious Litvinov proposals. That it port today is the victory of the Russian October. tions, it is quite clear the period of ‘respite’ is leads to abandonment of all that Lenin taught on A collapse would he followed by an unequalled transforming itself into a veritable epoch.” Later, the revolutionary struggle against war and the role reign of reaction throughout the world and would the resolution of the Enlarged Executive of the of the labor bureaucracy is shown in the capitula­ entail a restoration of world imperialist rule with­ C. I. of July 1927, spoke without restrictions of the tion of the Russian Trade Unions in the Anglo- out precedent in the last two or three decades. technical, economic and political stabilization of Russian Committee. That it leads to the subordi­ Our primary concern is therefore with the fate of capitalism. History’s answer to this estimate was nation of the Communist Party to the national the Russian Revolution which directly affects the fate of all the Communist Parties. The defense of the Russian Revolution against external attacks Lovestone Gangsters Stage Riot at New York Meeting and internal dangers1 is therefore the first and fore­ most task of all Communists and every conscious worker. W e are defenders of the Russian Revo­ to Protest Against the Deportation of L. D . Trotsky lution since 1917. There is no break in the con­ An audience of over 600 workers assembled at a mass c.ccd under such conditions and declared the meeting ad­ tinuity of our position for our present fight is meeting to protest the banishment of Trotsky from the jo u rn e d . directly connected with and follows from- our Soviet Union were given a concrete illustration of Stalin­ The gangster methods of the Lovcstone (notion created whole previous line. ist “ arguments” against , the organizer of the Red Arm y strong resentment among the workers who do not grant The attitude of official optimism and light- when a gang of hoodlums, who were armed with these fakers the “ right" or preventing them from attending black-jacks and brass knuckles and other weapons of the labor meetings and listening to a working class viewpoint. minded equanimity which finds that all is as it “ideological campaign” started a riot in which a number A number of Party and League members who were at the should be, without inquiry as to the actual facts of comrades were seriously injured and which finally cul­ meeting, declared their definite support of the Opposition and the basic trends of development,— and seeks to minated in the break-up of the meeting after the arrival in the future. prohibit such inquiry—is the worst kind of “ sup­ of 100 policemen and dicks from the Industrial Squad, Another meeting will shortly be organized, and be held port” that can be given the revolution. This atti­ the Bomb Squad and various other detachments. The under the protection of a workers' guard sufficient to meeting was held at the Labor Temple on Tuesday, Feb­ defend it from a repetition of the gangsterism that was tude is actually one of criminal neglect and results ruary 26, by the Communist Opposition. displayed. in disarming the proletariat before its enemies and The first riot occurred when a gang of 75 packed the Other Meetings of the Opposition deluding it before difficulties. To base oneself lobby of the hall and tried to force entrance without The public activities of the Opposition in its struggle only on faith and precedent is to drug oneself paying admission, headed tby Kalfides, a paid official of for the preservation of the Communist movement, have into impotence. Communists must give conscious the Party demanded free admission on the ground that been developed in a number of public meetings this and understanding help. he was “an unemployed worker.” A group of our com­ month. A successful meeting was held in Toronto on The origin of the present crisis in the Soviet rades successfully prevented this mass invasion, during Feb. 12. with comrade Maurice Spector as the speaker, which sharp scuffling took place and our comrade Frank at which 500 were present. The Canadian Party, which Union lies in the contradiction between the exist­ Basky was severely beaten by brass knuckles hidden un­ is now in a free speech fight of its own, did not find ence of a Soviet regime in a country with a pre­ der gloves and black-jacks wielded by the Stalinites. His it expedient to attempt to break up the meeting despite dominantly peasant economy, and the pressure of face was a swollen, bleeding mass and he had to be given previous threats. the capitalist encirclement. This crisis has been emergency treatment. A rousing meeting was held in Boston on Feb. 15 sharpened and aggravated by the false policies of The second riot began when the hoodlums, who had with an audience of 300 workers, with comrade James the leadership. These policies are rooted, further, come in by finally paying admission, commenced to howl P Cannon as speaker. His lecture was received with great and boo and to sing that “The International”— presum­ enthusiasm and resulted in strong consolidation of the in the overestimation by the present leadership of ably as a result of the introduction of Fascist tactics in Opposition Group and a number of hew definite sup­ the duration and depth of the temporary stabili­ the labor movement— will finally “be the human race.” porters among the Party members.